av wrote:

I have a question about paint formulas. I have a feeling when I
mention the manufacturer and/or the store, alot of you out there will
say "oh well no wonder" or something nice like that. I'd appreciate it
if you'd try and be as objective as possible in answering. We all have
our attitudes... including me.

I bought a gallon of interior trim Behr (oooh no wonder!) paint from
Home Depot (oooh say no more!) a couple of years ago. Used it for my
window trim, and then the following year, when I finshed with *part*
of a porch addition, did the window trim with the same paint. And
*then* the year after that when I finished the wall trim, couldn't
find the paint. I figured I must've finished it up. I remembered the
name, French Blue, was forgetting if it was Behr or not and called HD
up to be verify it. They said, yes there was a French Blue in the Behr
interior line, but it was an older paint and didn't carry it as part
of their regular line any longer. But not to worry, he said, because
they keep all the formulas in the computer and all they had to do was
spit it out.

So I went in and got a gallon.

Immediately upon painting I noticed a rather drastic difference betw
the previous year's painting and this one. I first thought, ok, this
just has to dry. Then it dried and was still looking very different,
and I thought, ok, maybe the paint is photoreactive and last year's
paint darkened somewhat. In about a year, everything will even out.
But when I finished the job, I just wasnt sure about that conclusion.

Then I found the "lost" can of paint from the previous year. I
compared the formulas, and found a very slight difference, but a
difference nonetheless.

PREVIOUS PAINT FORMULA

colorant oz 48 96
Lamp Black 0 28 0
Thalo Blue 1 20 0
Magenta 0 26 0

CURRENT PAINT FORMULA

colorant oz 48 96
Lamp Black 0 28 0
Thalo Blue 1 16 0
Magenta 0 24 0

You'll notice the lower numbers for the Thalo Blue and Magenta, which
would, if nothing else, explain the lighther color.

So I called Home Depot and asked for an explanation. She (same lady
who mixed it) said that Behr is "always changing its formulas". When I
asked why? What sense does that make? She had an oblique answer by
saying "when you came in I was a bit worried about mixing this up for
you" thus cleverly making it more into my problem. I said that I had
called them, said I had bought the paint a couple years ago, that the
fellow said they kept the formula and no one said anything whatsoever
about changed formulas.

Now, after a week and a day, I'm still waiting for her supervisor to
get back to me (even though she said they'd do anything to help remedy
the problem). I expect after a small exchange of gunfire, I'll come
away with a gallon of paint, but it all just left me wondering. Is
this normal? Do manufacturers change formulas at will and without
notice? I called another dealer and he gave a qualified yes, saying
that sometimes they might "consolidate the bases, like from 5 to 4
bases". But he himself hadn't seen just a change of numbers. And this
change with my paint has had nothing to do with Base changes.

The cynic in me says that if Behr just lowers a couple of notches in
the amount of colorant they put in each gallon, keeping the price the
same, (or for that matter forced to lower the price by HD) they can
keep costs under control. Does that sound plausible?

thanks in advance for replies
av

First you should have looked harder for the original can of paint and
painted a card to be matched. But, why get upset, if you don't like
the paint, take it back for a refund! Doesn't have to be anything
wrong or a mistake; the only reason you need is that you don't like
it.
All the rest that they told you sounds like nonsense as is your idea
that they would save money by using less colorant.

Take the gallon back for a refund. Have them match the old paint if
that is what you want. It's not a problem.